Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 457 Plenipotentiary

   Little Priskin's identity is an open secret in Maplestone.

All the big businessmen in Maplestone City knew that although Mr. Priskin was young, he was a close comrade-in-arms of the Blood Wolf, an important staff member of the Lord of Iron Peak, and the full authority of the number one wool smuggler in New Reclaimed Land in Maplestone City. people.

   Of course, the No. 1 wool smuggler in New Reclamation, the Lord of Iron Peak County, and the Blood Wolf himself know nothing about it.

   Changed to another yellow-mouthed child who gave himself so many titles, it would be regarded as a joke.

   The surname "Priskin" doesn't help either. Although the Priskin family is the most famous family in Revodan, it is not a big family in Maplestone, let alone a famous family.

   However, little Priskin had a prominent referrer—Fernando Leo, senior partner of the Navarre family, and the plenipotentiary representative of the Ocean Blue Wool Import and Textile Guild in Palato.

   As we all know, Veneta needs to import a huge amount of wool every year to satisfy the spinning wheels and looms in the textile factory who can never get enough to eat.

   But the trade was always a two-way street, and Palato's need for export wool was almost as strong as Veneta's desire for imported wool.

   And Fernando Leo is a mountain that wool absolutely cannot avoid on the road from Palato to Veneta.

  Since it was Fernando Leo who personally introduced little Priskin into the social arena of Maplestone City, then the tycoons of the new land capital couldn’t help but take a look at Priskin—at least on the surface.

And because Fernando Leo didn't stay in Maplestone most of the time, little Puliskin played the role of the middleman between Maplestone and Mr. Leo invisibly - even if someone knew that Puliskin was It's bragging, and it won't take the initiative to expose it.

   In addition, the Maplestone City social scene originally had a very strong interest in the rebels of Tiefeng County.

  The Platoons worship heroes, especially tragic heroes. If tragic heroes could add a touch of rebellion, it would be like dancing on the most sensitive itch in their soul.

   It is no exaggeration to say that if Winters Montagne had been killed in the moment of victory in the Battle of the Blood Mud, he would have instantly become a hero of the New Settlers—and of the Platonics—to be forever remembered.

  The new settlers will carve statues, build churches, and erect monuments for him. The day he died in battle would gradually evolve into a festival, where blue flowers would be worn in his memory, and his name would eventually be proclaimed on the roll of saints.

His story will be sung in taverns, chanted in churches, told to the next generation by the warm fireplace, and will someday spark a battle of ownership between the Platoons and the Veneta. fierce competition.

  The folk customs are like this, and it is not difficult to understand why little Puliskin, a hairy boy from a remote rural area, can become the most popular guest in the living room of Maplestone City overnight:

  The young men in Maplestone City all want to know more about the illustrious martial arts of the blood wolf;

  The unmarried ladies are all looking forward to hearing the legendary story of the ghost of Styx coming back to life again;

The    elders were very interested in "how the rebels defeated the Khan Court of Teltown with only one county".

As a result, little Puliskin, with cup after cup of fine wine and compliments after sentence after sentence, went from "Mr. Puliskin from Revodan" to "Blood Wolf's close comrade-in-arms", "Iron Wolf". Important advisor to the Lord of Peak County" and "full authority agent for the number one wool smuggler in New Reclamation".

   On the other hand, little Priskin himself is very likable:

   He is good-looking, funny, always cheerful, and knows how to please people;

   With young people, he doesn't have the air of "Mr. Priskin" and can play if he dares; when he is with older people, he knows how to show respect.

  Although he likes to brag, he never takes the opportunity to belittle others, so he rarely causes resentment. Listeners are willing to take what he tells as an interesting story, even if they don't fully believe what he's saying.

  The "gentlemen" of Maplestone welcomed little Priskin, greeted him in the driveway, opened the door for him, prepared a seat for him at the dining table, and of course took care of him everywhere.

  For unknown reasons, the New Reclamation Corps never did anything to him.

   Little Priskin's identity became an open secret in Maplestone City.

   He even paid a visit to the home of Major Ronald, the former Iron Peak military chief.

After the Battle of    Blood Mud, Major Ronald was released along with other captured officers. The released officers were immediately recalled to the castles to report their duties, and their families were temporarily placed in Maplestone City.

  Because of the unfamiliar and unattended life, many family members of military officers have encountered various difficulties in their lives.

  Little Priskin made his own decisions and delivered the unsettled "paid wages" of the former Iron Peak County officers to Mrs. Ronald, who entrusted the latter to distribute them to the families of the officers on their behalf.

  Sometimes, little Priskin would also wake up in a dream, for fear that the military police of the New Reclamation Corps would break in the next second and put him in a black jail to be tortured.

   He also couldn't figure out why the New Reclamation Army would acquiesce to him eating and drinking in Maplestone City.

   Really don't know? Or do you want to keep a communication channel? Or are you putting a long line to catch a big fish?

   Little Priskin's questions, though, may never be answered—and he doesn't have to worry about those things anymore.

   With the new reclaimed army attacking Maple Leaf Fort and General Adams committing suicide, little Puliskin's good days in Maplestone City also ended.

On the day of the    Incident, the "superior people" in Maplestone immediately discovered that Mr. Priskin from Gervoudan had disappeared.

  Young people may also ask questions at the dinner table. But the elders just smiled at each other, shrugged, and warned the younger family members not to mention the name outside.

   But no one of them expected that within a few days, "Blood Wolf's close comrade-in-arms" secretly returned to the house of a distant relative of the Priskin family in Maplestone City.

   If little Priskin's rhetoric had only received some polite smiles, then this time he risked his life to sneak back to Maplestone and earned him real respect.

   You must know that even Fernando Leo has already left Maplestone City ahead of schedule.

   But respect cannot be used as gold, and little Priskin himself knew that the only reason he was not reported was that the battle in Jinghu County had not yet been decided.

Therefore, when a few young people from Maplestone City, who knew him well, found him surreptitiously, and inquired about the relationship between the blood wolf and Gaisa Adonis, Skul Meckron, etc., little Puli There was a loud "hum" from the inside of Skin's skull.

   Even though he was in a poorly furnished dark room, he could really smell the tangy aroma of suckling pigs that had been slowly roasted all night long when the lid was lifted.

   He picked up the water glass and concealed his inner agitation.

After confirming the hesitant expressions of several young people from famous Maplestone City families, he took a small sip of water and put the cup back in place, looking at the people in front of him with a free and easy smile: "You all know the result? "

   Several young people looked at each other, and after repeated silent conversations, one person replied in a low voice: "I didn't tell us, but I heard a little bit of wind."

  The other person couldn't hold back, and followed him impatiently: "Mr. Priskin, what the **** is the blood wolf..."

   Before the other party could finish speaking, little Priskin raised his hand, and several young people immediately closed their mouths.

"Since I didn't tell you, I won't tell you either." Little Priskin's heart was beating wildly in his chest, he unceremoniously ordered the eviction, and gestured to the white-headed Roger on the side to see off the guest: "Just Use this sentence to go back and make a business."

   Several young people wanted to speak, but seeing Mr. Priskin's serious expression, he didn't dare to ask any more, so he reluctantly followed the new white-haired servant and left.

Little Priskin waited, and when the footsteps of several people disappeared, he finally couldn't help jumping up from the chair, standing in the center of the room and punching the surrounding air desperately, stuffing the towel into his mouth" Woohoo" called out.

   Soon, footsteps came in again.

  Little Priskin instantly returned to the chair and sat upright.

   The next second, he found that the towel was still in his hand, so he hurriedly hid the towel and continued to sit upright.

  The door opened, and Luo Jie appeared outside the door.

  Little Priskin jumped off the chair and dragged Roger the Whitehead into the door.

Under Whitehead Roger's unexplained gaze, little Priskin first confirmed that no one was eavesdropping outside the door, then looked around against the window frame to confirm that no one was eavesdropping outside the window, and finally covered all the gaps in the doors and windows with sheets and blankets. Dead block.

   "What's the matter?" White-headed Roger asked in confusion.

"Shh!" Little Priskin immediately covered Roger's mouth, listened sideways for a moment and confirmed that there was no abnormal sound, then bit his ear and told Roger with great excitement, "It must be Your Excellency the Tribunal who won! "

   "Huh?" The white-headed Roger was surprised at first, but he responded quickly, and immediately lowered his voice and said suddenly, "So these guys are here to beg for mercy?"

"I don't know what they want to do, but they must have heard some rumors. These big families in Maplestone City are deeply connected, and they must be better informed than we are." Little Priskin let go of Roger and paced around in circles. , in a twinkling of an eye and into trouble again:

"Your Excellency is true. You won the battle, but you sent us a message! It made us guess like a blind eye. Alas, it would be great if we could contact Your Excellency the Tribunal... "

   said, little Priskin looked at Roger.

   White-headed Roger knew that he couldn't hide, but he didn't want to. In terms of guts, this Steelcastle man is only a little bigger than little Priskin.

   He patted his chest very unprofessional, and said in half-baked Platonic dialect: "Stop talking, I'll go to the tribune."

But little Priskin shook his head: "You can't do it, you are new here and you don't know the road, where can you find your Excellency? Besides, the people in Maplestone know that you came with me. If you disappear, they will I understand what cards I have in my hand."

   "Then what?" Roger glared.

   Little Priskin sighed, fell straight onto the bed, closed his eyes, and said helplessly, "Then we can only wait for someone to come over and find a way to deal with it."

   "Then when will they come?" Roger glared again.

   "Wait!" Little Priskin covered his face with a pillow.

  The agonizing wait didn't last long.

   In the afternoon, a few young people were just sent away by little Priskin.

   In the middle of the night, the leaders of the three Maplestone Merchants and Craftsmen's Headquarters-Mikesh Keremin, Besse Gyurgi and Gwadani Yuzhov came to visit together.

   As soon as he saw this battle, little Priskin understood that his tribune not only won, but certainly a big victory.

   Otherwise, the other party would not be able to come so impatiently, not even thinking of bargaining.

   In his heart, he shouted three long live for Lord Blood Wolf, and little Priskin stepped onto the carriageway and welcomed the three old gentlemen into the main entrance.

   This time, the place where the two sides met was no longer a simple dark room, but a living room with bright windows.

   After a brief greeting, the three leaders of the Maplestone City Headquarters Association went straight to the topic and frankly explained their intentions:

   They hope to invite Blood Wolf to represent them and mediate with Colonel Geisa, Colonel Skool and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias of Bianjiang County...

   Mr. Mikael paused, and slowly said the embarrassing reason: "Resolve each other's misunderstandings and avoid wrong... liquidation."

   Then, the trio started detailing the rewards they could offer.

   Little Priskin kept nodding and seemed to be listening carefully, but in fact a bold idea was sprouting in his heart.

  After the weights were put down on one end of the scale, the three Maplestone City Chamber of Commerce leaders decided to stand up to say goodbye—they didn’t think little Priskin was qualified to bargain, but only regarded the latter as a microphone.

   But the microphone made its own voice.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mikael, Mr. Besse, Mr. Gwadani." Little Priskin asked politely: "Why don't you take this price and go to Colonel Geisa and Colonel Sculler yourself. And Lieutenant Colonel Matthias?"

   The three leaders of the Maplestone City Chamber of Commerce exchanged glances quietly, and did not answer for a while.

"Because it's not enough, right?" Little Priskin asked himself and answered: "Others may not know, but I know very well that in the eyes of the military leaders in power, we businessmen are nothing... Just experienced a In the war, the garrisoned troops in all counties urgently need to raise military funds to make up for the losses. Maplestone City is the most juicy trophy in their eyes, and the new land has no longer been able to defy their strength."

   Having said that, including little Priskin, the eyes of several people are a little dark.

   "What's more." Little Priskin changed the subject, his tone showing a hint of chill: "The so-called misunderstanding, I am afraid it is not a misunderstanding; the so-called wrong settlement, I am afraid there is nothing wrong."

Little Puliskin stretched out his finger and began to take stock of one thing and one thing: "In the Maple Leaf Fort massacre, you released new land to send troops into the city; after the massacre, it was you who came forward to appease the people in the city; the puppet army attacked the mirror. Lake County, you are defending the city for the puppet government army again; you will turn a deaf ear until the coalition forces cross the border and give you the last chance to surrender."

   "We..." Mikael's defense was pale: "There is no way."

"I know. But Colonel Geisa wants to liquidate you, just an excuse is enough." Little Priskin's body language was like a weak side, but his words were sharp as a knife: "But your The ship transported luggage to Sanel, and the militia you provided helped Sanel defend Maplestone City, all of which are real."

Little Priskin struck while the iron was hot: "Besides, you should know what kind of person Colonel Geisa is - he is a guy who can squeeze a handful of water out of a stone. Believe it or not, if Colonel Geisa only seized half of the people's homes, The remaining half of the people just clap their hands and applaud?"

   If old Mikael doesn't understand anymore, it's only because he's deaf.

   He coughed lightly and pointedly: "Please tell me straight, Mr. Priskin, what do you want us to do?"

  What Mikael didn't expect was that the hairy boy in front of him gave him an unexpected answer: "I don't want you to do anything, I just advise you - don't take chances."

   Next, Mr. Priskin, who represented the interests of the rebels in Tiefeng County, began to put himself in the shoes of several Maplestone City merchants to analyze the interests:

"You bribe the Montagne tribune, in the end, you want the Montagne tribune's military protection. But please think about it, is a saber in someone else's hand really trustworthy? The saber in your hand is a reliable saber—I tell you, if you want to save your life, the only way is to defend Maplestone City!”

"If you want to surrender in the first place, Gaisa will only eat you up; if you hold Maplestone and prevent Gaisa and Skool from attacking, then they will have to accept your surrender; if you can If you defeat Gaisa's troops, not only will you not have to surrender, but even Maplestone will not be plundered." Little Priskin's eyes gleamed: "If you defeat all the four-county coalition forces, let alone Maplestone, The new land is yours!"

   "The members of the guilds we represent are honest citizens." Old Mikael coughed again: "We don't know how to fight, let alone fight."

   "Then..." Little Priskin looked solemn and said earnestly: "You can only find someone who can fight for you."

  …

  …

  [Maple Stone City West Gate Tower]

   "So?" Winters stood on the city wall, playing with the city gate key in his hand, and glanced at little Priskin: "You sold my 'protection' to them like this?"

"It's really a waste of my strength! Your Excellency!" Little Priskin was unaware of the strange atmosphere, still immersed in excitement, gushing for credit: "The people of Maplestone originally wanted to tie me up and hand over me. To the commander of the puppet army, but I was not afraid of danger, and I told them about the deeds that you did not commit when you entered Gevaudanciu! I also told them about the deeds that I was still forgiven by the enemy inside and outside the country! I told them about your iron fist The deeds of restoring law and order in Tiefeng County, the citizens' representatives of Maplestone City burst into tears and fell to the ground..."

   "Okay, okay." Winters waved his hand and asked, "What did you promise to go out?"

"Pardon them for their crimes of serving the puppet army, don't liquidate all their collaborating with the enemy during the puppet army's occupation, and protect their lives and property from other counties' troops..." Little Priskin said with his fingers broken. A few, grinned: "It's all already owned by the people of Tiefeng County! It's simply given for nothing!"

Winters stood up with the hilt of his sword. He now not only had pain in his ribs, but also in his cranial cavity. He patted little Priskin on the shoulder and praised through gritted teeth: "You did a good job! You did a good job. what!"

   Little Priskin sucked in a breath of pain. He didn't dare to ask His Excellency Montagne, so he looked pitifully at the other tribunes present.

   "Why are you looking at me?" Andrei grinned: "In my opinion, you did a good job this time! But the two of them don't necessarily see it that way."

   Little Priskin looked even more pitiful.

   After all, Mason relented, and briefly explained the situation to little Priskin.

  Little Priskin was dumbfounded, how did he know that there was a gentleman's covenant within the coalition beforehand?

   "Then..." Little Priskin stammered and asked, "Then I'll go get Colonel Skool back and give him Maplestone City?"

   Winters patted little Priskin on the shoulder again: "If you were Colonel Skool, what would you think when you heard this proposal?"

   "Subordinates... subordinates don't know..."

   "If I were Colonel Skool." Winters sighed. "I'd only think of it as a trap—a trap to wipe out the Thundershire army."

   Little Priskin was about to cry: "Then... what should I do?"

   Winters snorted softly and didn't answer.

   "Or, Colonel Geisa as the middleman?" Mason frowned and pondered: "Let's hand over Maplestone City to Colonel Geisa, and then Colonel Geisa to Colonel Skool?"

"Give it up?" Winters turned around, picked up the huge city gate key, and said decisively: "Maplestone City Democracy voluntarily handed this key into our hands, if we hand it over again, it will not only Distrust only Skull Mecklen, but also the whole new land! Don't pay!"

   "That's right!" Andre slapped his palm.

  Mason shrugged, his expression rather relaxed.

  The sun slanted westward, and smoke rose from all over the Maplestone City.

"Everything that Priskin promises to go out must be honored." Winters looked at the largest city in the new reclaimed land shrouded in green veil, and gradually sorted out his thoughts: "Let Charles bring the gendarmerie into the city, Seal up barracks, houses, warehouses, and all Legion property, and assist the City Guard in maintaining law and order."

   "Write it down." Mason had already taken out a notebook and a graphite pen.

   "Let Bart Schalling lead two companies and take over the defense of West Gate."

   "Only take over Simon?" Mason asked.

   "Only take over the west gate, the other gates are still temporarily guarded by the militia."

   "What about the other troops?"

   "Other troops stay outside the city." Winters' tone became stern: "Order commanders at all levels to restrain the soldiers, and prohibit any Iron Peak County soldiers from entering the city without permission."

   "Why?" Andrei was puzzled.

   "If we swagger into the city." Winters sighed: "It's really irreversible."

  Andre scratched his head, not understanding.

   "Colonel Skool," Mason suggested.

  Andre gave a long "Oh", and then asked helplessly: "I have a reason for not sending troops to the city gate, right?"

   "Isn't there a ready-made reason?" Winters raised his hand, pointed at the Maple Leaf Castle on the high ground outside the city, and said with a smile, "Isn't that the best reason?"

Mason nodded in agreement: "Just right, let the troops practice siege tactics. Since the expansion of the army, we have not experienced siege warfare, and I am afraid that many company commanders have almost forgotten about it. The defenders of Maple Leaf Fort are all The old, the sick, and the sick are a wonderful target.”

  Andrei yawned beside him.

"Tell Pierre to come over, I have something to ask him." Winters looked at the Maple Leaf Castle, which was still flying the red rose flag, and had already begun to contemplate the layout of the siege in his mind: "Count the prisoners, I want to know that there are all of them. Which officers escaped into Maple Leaf Fort. If there are any prisoners familiar with the structure of Maple Leaf Fort, bring it to me as well."

   "Okay, I wrote it all down."

   Winters turned around, and with his eyes caught the little Priskin who was already trying to slip away.

   "Your Excellency." Little Priskin bowed his head.

   Seeing little Priskin's scared and frustrated expression, Winters couldn't bear it. He gently patted little Priskin on the shoulder this time: "Thank you."

   Little Priskin finally couldn't hold back, tears of grievance welled up.

"Don't cry, there are still things for you to do." Winters just boasted, and then began to call people: "Find me all the newspapers you can collect, and then invite the heads of the major commercial firms to come over. . . If anyone has recently returned to the new field, bring it too - I need to know what's been going on outside of the new field recently."

   "I'll do it now." Little Priskin wiped away his tears and left happily.

   Winters looked at the back of little Priskin and thought of Pierre again, and there was another pain inside the skull.

   "Colonel Skool." Mason reminded: "Is it still necessary to send someone to explain."

  Winters rubbed his forehead and thought for a while: "And Colonel Geisa, also send someone to explain the situation."

"How to say?"

   "What else can I say?" Winters smiled wryly: "Tell me the truth."

   "Will they believe it?"

   Winters snorted coldly: "Believe it or not!"

This time it was Mason's turn to smile bitterly, and Andre came over and put his arms around Winters' shoulders, laughing wildly: "This is Winters Montagne! This is wolf blood! Believe it or not! I'm not convinced. Just call and see the real chapter on the battlefield!"

"The situation we are facing now is actually not good." Winters looked at the southwest direction in the twilight and explained his thoughts: "Vogne County has isolated us from the 'homeland' of Tiefeng County, Leiqun County. And the province of Westwood is by our side - so, our primary goal at present, remains the same as Vigne County."

   "Okay." Mason nodded habitually.

"Andre." Winters also touched Andre's shoulder. He found that he hadn't done such an intimate gesture with his companions for a long time, so he patted it harder: "You have to keep an eye on it. Movement in Vigne."

   "Don't worry!" Andre laughed loudly: "If the tortoise in Vigne dares to show his head, he is not a tortoise."

   "The one who delivers the letter to Colonel Geisa is a good choice." Mason remembered another question, and filled in the omission: "But who to send to Colonel Skool to explain the situation? I am afraid he will have a hard time trusting us."

   This question also stumped Winters for a while: "We have to find someone we trust and who can be trusted by them."

  The first city fell silent for a while, only the bird circling above.

  Andre slapped his forehead and smiled: "I thought of a good candidate!"

  …

  [Outskirts of Maplestone]

  [The convoy escorting Colonel Bird's coffin]

"Hey! I really can't do anything about you!" Seb Carrington's face was deliberately stern, but his eyes were filled with smugness and the satisfaction of being needed: "Colonel Bode is gone, and this kind of thing happened. , Besides me, who else can support you?"

[At the end of the last chapter, I forgot to explain, referring to the distance between Maplestone City and Green Valley, and the speed of several real-world rout reports, from [Pierre repelled the Green Valley defenders] to [the first batch of rout troops appeared in Outside Maplestone] the time interval has been shortened from six days to three days]

   [Current timeline is as follows]

   [Battle date-1 Battle of Green Valley, Colonel Bode discovered the whereabouts of the enemy, Winters rushed to the main battlefield overnight;

   On the day of the battle

   Battle date +1 deserters to Green Valley;

   Battle date +2 Pierre defeated Felt's last fighting force;

   Battle date + 2 night Felt's troops retreat, Pierre pursues;

   Battle date +5 deserters arrive in Maplestone City;

   Battle date +6 Winters led the army back to Green Valley]

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)